EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Southern Illinois baseball got seven strong innings from Aidan Foeller and clutch at bats from Trey Cutchen as the No. 6 Salukis defeated No. 7 Belmont, 12-2 in eight innings, in the opening round of the 2024 MVC Championship at German American Bank Field in Evansville, Indiana.
Foeller recorded 10 punchouts in the game to surpass the 100 strikeout mark this season. Now at 101 strikeouts on the year, the right-hander moved into fourth place in single-season punchouts, passing John Hotz (1964).
Foeller needed to work around baserunners early in the game as he was able to get out of the second and third innings. With two on in the second, the Nesbit, Mississippi native got back-to-back strikeouts to end the Bruin threat. With the bases loaded and no outs in the third, Foeller would get a pair of punchouts and a fly ball to keep Belmont off the board.
The Bruins would crack the scoreboard in the fifth with a pair of solo home runs, but the Salukis would answer quickly as the bats would get things going in the bottom half.
Southern sent nine batters to the plate in the fifth inning of action, recording three runs on three hits, a pair of hit-by-pitches and a walk. Mathieu Vallee led off the inning with a walk before Steven Loden singled to put pressure on the Bruins.
Senior catcher Cole Christman put the Salukis on the board when he roped a ball to left. An RBI groundout would tie the game before Cutchen singled to right to put the Salukis on top for the first time in the game and SIU would not look back.
Southern added on in the seventh with a three-spot. A wild pitch scored a run before Cutchen blasted his fifth home run of the season – a two-run home run to center – to push the SIU lead to 6-2.
After Easton Dermody came in from the bullpen to retire Belmont in the seventh the Salukis went on to score six runs in the eighth to earn the run-rule win. Vallee led off the scoring with a home run before Bennett Eltoft doubled in a run and Jordan Back cleared the bases with a triple. Hesston Gray hit his 12th home run of the season to cap off the win for the Salukis.
Foeller allowed two runs on seven hits to claim his fifth win of the season in his 13th start.
Gray led the Salukis with three base hits while Vallee, Cutchen and Jake Allgeyer had two hits apiece.
Belmont’s Joe Ruzicka (4-5) took the loss after giving up three runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings.
